Happy bagel day! Well, this was from Monday, aka, bagel day at work. I haven’t been buying bagels at home for a few weeks so I only get my fix at work. Kind of boring but I brought a colourful lunch.
I made a kale salad on Sunday to have for some lunches. I had it for dinner last night as well. It was kale, red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and pine nuts. Fantastic. I topped it with some leftover tofu. So very good. To hit that sweet tooth I had grapes and a very out of season peach for dessert. It was a bit too much to be honest but I was happy.
I had a horrible workout, so very sore and no grip. I quit half way and came home really upset. I don’t know what to do, I kind of feel like quitting weight training, but I probably shouldn’t. I was cranky and didn’t want dinner so I had a strawberry protein shake with a frozen banana. Right before bed I was too hungry to get to sleep so I had some corn chips with a few scoops of hummus. Dumb dinner for such a great day. Oh well. At least the beginning of the day went well!
Posted in Food, Food Log.
Tagged with Wiaw.
By Shannon
– February 26, 2014
My blueberry cravings are kind of out of control. Which is bad in the winter. Blah. I haven’t had bran muffins in a few months so I decided to whip up this recipe from Isa Does It. Sort of.
Sort of? Well yes. See, these on a normal day would be nice light and fluffy bran muffins. However, I had extra wheat bran to use up (it wouldn’t fit in the jar, I’m so lazy) so I just tossed it in. It changes the texture and makes them more dense. Now, I am fine with this change but it’s just a fair warning. If you want a lighter muffin follow the recipe. If you have a bit extra bran and you are too lazy to put it in a zip lock baggie, go ahead and add it to the recipe, or your next recipe. Wheat bran is good for the body and the soul! 
Posted in Baking, Food.
Tagged with blueberries, isa does it, muffins.
By Shannon
– February 25, 2014
Saturday was busy. It was almost the end of the month with only 1 hike in my pocket and I had plans on Sunday for a movie. I was going to go hiking in the morning but the movie got pushed to a matinée so that was out. Oh well. So I got up, played tennis, ate breakfast and headed out for a quick hike.
Thornewood is a tiny little preserve nestled in between a few bigger ones in Woodside. I read that the entrance to the main parking lot was pretty hidden and that’s quite accurate. My first turn was into someone’s driveway (sorry mansion owners) but I made it on my second try. It’s a left in the middle of a right-handed corner on a 2 lane hilly road. Yeah. I didn’t kill any cyclists zooming down the hill so I get a gold medal for that.
There are two trails in this preserve: Schilling Lake Trail and Bridle Trail. There is a tiny lake that is kind of cute, I think it is a little over a mile out and back, pretty easy. The only wildlife I saw was on the lake. It’s still so dry out so everything is dusty and the lake was sludgy.
The Bridle trail actually leads into redwoods which is always so nice and pretty. It’s almost all switchbacks down to another road which was fine. My hike ended up being 3 miles so each trail was not very long since it was an out and back. I saw a few people on the trails, I think they parked at the bottom of the Bridle trail since I didn’t ever see their cars.
Posted in Exercise, Hiking.
Tagged with sfbay hikes, woodside.
By Shannon
– February 24, 2014
I’ve been playing with this recipe for a long time, it has become my tried and true chili recipe. It started off full of meat and full of other unnecessary ingredients so I’ve played with it for a long time. I really wanted to make this vegan.
Some say beans don’t have a place in chili and some think they do. I like both “meat” and beans. A full bean chili is a bit too much for me and a full meat analog chili is too rich. As for meat substitutes there are many on the market. I LOVE Match Meats but it is pretty hard to get in California. Hey Match, get on that! I’ve used LightLife and Boca crumbles just fine. What’s really great is there is no “browning” the meat. Heck, you just dump it in the slow cooker.
The secret to this recipe? The refried beans. It makes a brilliant texture, especially since things don’t really reduce well in the slow cooker. The husband requests this chili and he’s a full on meat eater. It makes a great bowl of plain chili but also awesome chili dogs and chili baked potatoes. I also like the make the full amount of seasoning mix. It works well sprinkled on so many things. Really spices up some veggies or a baked potato. Handy to have in the pantry.
Ingredients
Seasoning Mix
- 4 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Chili
- 1 package (12oz) frozen meatless crumbles
- 1 Tbsp onion, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes (15oz)
- 1 can tomato sauce (15oz)
- 1 can chili beans
- 1 can vegetarian refried beans
Instructions
- Mix together seasoning mix. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
- In the slow cooker, add all of the chili ingredients and 3 tablespoons of seasoning mix.
- Stir together and break up the refried beans and meatless crumbles.
- Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
2.2
http://www.killerbunniesinc.com/2014/02/vegan-slow-cooker-chili-recipe/
Will YOU be a part of the #SundaySupper Chili Cook-Off judges panel this week? Voting is live at the Sunday Supper Movement Online Community Magazine starting now and concluding (fittingly) on February 27 – National Chili Day! Browse the submissions and cast your vote by clicking HERE!
Beef and Bison Chili
Pork Chili
Chicken, Duck, and Turkey Chili
Mixed (meat combo) Chili
Fish and Seafood Chili
Vegetarian Chili
Twist-on-Chili
Best Wines To Pair with Chili #SundaySupper from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.
Posted in Recipes, Savory.
Tagged with beans, dinner, recipe.
By Shannon
– February 23, 2014
I’m doing okay with my goals. People pshaw’ed at the goal of getting out on my bike twice a month. However, I’m making that goal, so there’s that. I got into a huge argument on the internet (*rolls eyes*) with a guy who thinks that if I don’t live and breathe and sleep on my bike I don’t deserve it. Yeah. “deserve it”. Punk kids. Because a motorcycle can’t be a recreational vehicle. It’s sure as hell taxed as one.
So instead of getting all up in arms (okay, my blood pressure raised, he was a douche in the whole conversation and well, I put him in his place) I’m just doing my thing. Which is going out when I can. Riding is getting a lot easier mentally. It’s the slow maneuver turns and such into parking lots and driveways that freak me out and that used to be totally fine when doing parking lot practice. Whatever. It’s all mental. The husband has been more than patient with me and I love the intercom system. There’s been no panic when I’m out on the street, I can just talk to him and figure out where to go next. I still don’t have a lot of mileage but I have more confidence. I got to wave to my first guy and actually have been having fun. Who cares if it is all around my neighbourhood, I’m cool with that right now.
Posted in Hobbies, Motorcycle.
Tagged with duke, motorcycles.
By Shannon
– February 22, 2014
Peanut butter. Chocolate chips. Waffles. Sounds like a perfect morning to be honest. And it was a pretty okay morning. This recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Waffles wasn’t vegan but when has that ever stopped me?
Substituting buttermilk is always pretty easy. Unsweetened almond milk with a splash of apple cider vinegar always gets the job done. However, this time I opted to just ignore the egg and not use a replacement. I think they need some sort of egg replacement since they were kind of crumbly to be honest. And a little too sweet. I know, I just said that, but really these were big cookies, so I had a hard time first thing in the morning getting through this plate. I’d consider making these again and serving them with ice cream for dessert though, as soon as I figure out how to make them less crumbly.
Posted in Baking, Food.
Tagged with choco, peanut butter, waffles.
By Shannon
– February 21, 2014
I love Italian cookies, so when I saw a recipe for Torcettini di Saint Vincent I thought I would give it a go. Why not? The recipe has yeast in it and since I make a lot of bread that was no issue. I used margarine instead of butter to make them vegan. However, I wasn’t a fan. There is only sugar on the outside, not in the cookie. And the texture is well, not to my taste. The husband thought it tasted like a stale half baked unsalted pretzel. They didn’t float our boat. Oh well. Maybe the rest will get dunked in coffee.
Posted in Baking, Food.
Tagged with cookies, lemon.
By Shannon
– February 20, 2014
Another Wednesday, another day started with toast. Home made bread yo. Obviously, it wasn’t toasted equally. Oh well. No big deal. I’m getting kind of low on the coconut spread at work. Unsure if I want to keep buying this or change it up a bit. I know, the horrible decisions I have to make at work. It almost consumed me for a whole 10 seconds. It’s still undecided, I should probably do a poll. Or you know, just figure it out later.
I had brought chili for lunch but went out for a salad. I might have went overboard on the croutons. I live a carb based life, in case you haven’t figured that out. When I got home I got ready for tennis and decided on some quick beans and rice for fuel. And then my tennis partner cancelled. No worries, but then I didn’t feel like eating much else since I hadn’t burned off the carbs from dinner #1. I had planned at least a green smoothie for dinner #2 but I never got to it so I’m glad I had a salad for lunch because I didn’t have anything green with dinner.
Posted in Food, Food Log.
Tagged with Wiaw.
By Shannon
– February 19, 2014
I’m drinking my way through samples. I met with Tiesta Tea at the Fancy Food Show and these guys were so great to chat with. There is no drinking these teas with your pinky up, that’s for sure.
The blends are totally approachable and not intimidating. But they are not your run of the mill blends, so don’t worry about being bored. You don’t have to read into every single note to enjoy them at all. You want an energizing tea? Try Explosive Mango Mate. You need to relax? Try Lemon Meringue Chamomile. I wanted to try something really different at home. I got a sample of Chunky Watermelon.
Yeah, really. I tried it hot and it was weird, so I took a sample home to make some iced tea. Because you know with watermelon it’s going to be pretty interesting iced.
The tea is very sweet naturally. It has watermelon pieces, apple pieces, carrot flakes (!), honeydew melon bits and strawberry pieces. I’m not sure what the carrot is doing in there but it doesn’t really taste bad. Plus, carrots are kind of sweet. Even though the tea is sweet it is still very refreshing. This would be a perfect sunny day sipper.
Posted in Food, Tea.
Tagged with herbal tea, tiesta tea.
By Shannon
– February 18, 2014
I don’t know what happened in this recipe but I think my yeast is past its prime. I was really looking forward to this recipe since it has a dutch crunch topping option. I LOVE dutch crunch! It’s always my choice for sandwiches. Always.
The bread itself was tasty but it didn’t really rise much. I ditched the egg and I used margarine to make them vegan. It should have worked out okay but oh well. This tasted really great warm so we pretty much just ate it all with margarine. Not a bad way to use up fresh bread!
Posted in Baking, Food.
Tagged with bba, bread, bread bakers apprentice.
By Shannon
– February 17, 2014
