Homemade hummus

A few weeks ago, I came across this infographic of hummus recipes.

And whoda thunk - these recipes are actually pretty good! I tried the classic hummus and then the beet hummus, since I had some beets laying around. Both were very tasty, and so easy to make - just throw all 5 ingredients into a processor, blend, and serve! I accompanied the hummus with fresh wheat pita, couscous and tabbouleh for a Mediterranean feast.

Grow your own onions

I've seen many posts online lately from people saying that they were able to grow green onions from used onions. Oh really....? I gave it a shot. I first chopped up some of the onion down to about half an inch from the bulb. I then put the bulb in a small glass of water. And wouldn't you know it - the onion started growing back! So get twice the amount of onions for the price of one!

Orange Zest at the ready

After doing a bit of research on the interwebs, I found the general consensus to save orange zest.
Once you devour your juicy orange, save the skin.

With a knife, carefully get all the pulp off the skin, as much as you can anyways. Let sit.

The skins will dry after a couple days. Using a food processor, chop/grate the skins and store in a sealed container. Now you have orange zest whenever you need it!

Two of my favorite orange zest recipes:
Pine nut orange cookies
Orange and pecan cookies

Frozen herbs

I've recently just introduced myself to the pleasures of frozen herbs.

On my personal blog, I've raved about my AeroGarden. I can grow three plants at a time with minimal care. Currently, I'm growing parsley, basil, and oregano. And let me tell you, there's nothing like fresh herbs in your meals.

Since, occasionally, the herbs grow faster than I can use them, I found a way to not let them go to waste - Freeze them!

You start off by tearing the leaves into small pieces. Put about one tbsp of the herb into an ice tray (I used AeroGarden's brand, but any tray will do obviously).
Using a super gentle stream, fill the tray with water. Be careful not to force the leaves out of the tray!
Let freeze at least overnight. Pop out of the tray whenever you need them.
Drop into your simmering soup. The ice melts away and you're left with your home-grown herbs!

Yummy Mummy Meals

I hope in the name of all that is good in this world that by the time anyone reads this I will have my baby in my arms and no time to cook. In preparation for this trying time in my life, I have prepared what I like to call "Yummy Mummy Meals." Over the past few weeks, my freezer and pantry been filling up with easy-to-reheat and easy-to-cook meals and ingredients.



So far we have:
Two Baked Zitis, cut into individual servings

One batch of Banana Muffins

One batch of Bakery-Style Berry Muffins from Vegan Brunch

One batch of Corn Muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking.


One batch of jam-filled bran muffins (some raspberry, some strawberry), also from The Joy of Vegan Baking.

One batch of Blueberry Pancakes with added flax for added yumminess

One batch of Cinnamon Rolls (although they're kind of sad, because the yeast didn't do it's thing... pretty sure I accidentally killed it)

Ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookie dough (Is it possible I've never blogged about my famous chocolate chip cookies? I'll rectify that soon enough, but suffice it to say, I made a big ol' batch of dough, rolled it into cookie-sized balls and froze said balls. Plan is to pop a few in the oven when I'm in the mood for a cookie.)

Tons of veggie broth (My "recipe": 1-2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks all roughly chopped, 2-4 cloves of garlic, dill and any other spices that seem good at the moment with as much water as my biggest pot can hold. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for at least an hour.)

A variety of cooked beans

Homemade pizza dough (I currently have enough for 4 pizzas)

Lentil Soup

Pita bread, tortillas & bagels (store-bought)

Three pints of my grandma's delicious veggie soup.



And my pantry is filled with pasta, dried beans, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, cous cous, rice, flour and all the usual suspects.

Breakfast Bites

So I keep talking about this crazy revolution my taste buds have undergone now that I'm entering into my third year of being a vegetarian. Like, for instance, I used to love eating muffins and/or pastries for breakfast, if/when I ever even ate breakfast. And besides eggs, didn't really consider anything else acceptable breakfast food.

But these days when I bite into a muffin or a pastry I'm just like, "wow! taste all that refined, bleached flour and the made-with-animal-bones sugar... grody." And then I'm not interested in eating it anymore. Instead, I'm craving crazy things like fruit and nuts.

These are things I used to like eating, but I didn't like eating them very much. Now every morning I'm packing some fruit to take to work with me where I currently have a big bag of cashews stashed in my desk.


It's been pretty awesome seeing the way my body responds to eating so healthily. My hair is the reddest it's been since I was a little kid gorging myself on tomatoes out of our backyard garden. I've also been developing quite a bit of muscle while doing my normal activities which is awesome, but a little annoying as it leads to prolonged muscle soreness.

Anyway, my mind has just been blown away at how good real, nourishing food is. I'm definitely eating along the lines of Michael Pollan these days:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Michael Pollan
www.thedailyshow.com
, brea
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