I haven’t written in a while.  It was a toss up between studying for exams and writing here, and, well, something had to fall by the wayside.  Then I moved house, with all the packing and unpacking that entails.  Let’s just say it’s been a busy month.

However, I’m all settled in now and I love my new house.  Why do I love it?  Let me count the ways…

First off, there’s a beautiful convection oven that is an absolute dream for baking cookies, muffins, breads…  After my horrible apartment sized oven and stove, it’s quite the revelation to bake on two shelves at the same time!  As you can see, I’ve been making use of it:

Carrot-Oatmeal muffins with chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, and pumpkin seeds (recipe from one of the Anne Lindsay Lighthearted Cookbooks).  They have a pleasantly firm texture, without being dense- the kind of muffin you can throw into a lunchbag and still enjoy later without it being reduced to soggy crumbs.

 Chocolate chip cookies (recipe from the back of the chip package- which I threw away and then went digging through mucky garbage for because they were really good cookies!)

Secondly, I love my house because I finally have a garden.  A lovely vegetable garden, with peas, beets, two different types of lettuce, potatoes, herbs (including mint, basil, thyme, rosemary, and chives), and rhubarb.  I have a couple stories to tell about that rhubarb (of which I will fondly refer to as Audrey III, the vegetative star of the cult classic “Little Shop of Horrors”.)  Anyways, it’s a beautiful feeling to go out just before dinner and pick some salad greens right out of the garden.  Five minutes out of the ground, the lettuce is tender and almost buttery on the tongue- a far cry from the wilted store bought heads that are so popular!

Black Bean Burgers from How it All Vegan (made with Romano beans and extra chopped up veggies- because you really can never have too many veggies!)  The bed of greens that it’s sitting on is composed of baby beet leaves (the beets needed thinning, and the leaves are edible) and fresh picked lettuce.  The sprouts on top come from my very own kitchen counter- who needs the overpriced supermarket ones?

Thirdly…the house has strawberry plants!  ‘Nuff said.

I have an apology to make.  I definitely deserve some sort of “Worst Blogger” award, due to my inexcusable lack of posts over spring break.  I promise I’ll try to make it up to you, dear readers (although judging by my blog stats, there are very few of you).

Perhaps the reason for the lack of posts is due to the utter un-photogenic-ness of all my cooking over spring break.  Fantasticall yummy dishes such as Sundried Tomato and Chickpea Soup, Applesauce-Raisin spice loaf, and St. Patrick’s Day muffins went unphotographed and unblogged because of their rather unappealing appearance…or just because I was lazy.

But I am back now, and decided to tie together two of my loves: food and sports.  I’m in training for 2 triathlons and a 10k run, and often find myself eating “on the run”, so to speak.  I’ve found myself buying more and more packaged “energy bars”, and my favourite brand, Larabar, was digging a deep hole in my bank account.  So I decided to make my own!

Using these posts by Bittersweet and Bunnyfoot as a guide, and inspired by some delicious chai meringues I made over the break, I threw this together in the whirlwind of before-school preparations.  Which perhaps explains the fact why I can’t remember the exact quantities.  But it tasted good!

Orange-Chai Lalala Bar
2 soft dates (~1 tbsp)
1 tbsp rolled oats
1 tsp bran
1/2 tsp flaxseed
1 tbsp sunflower seed
1/2 tsp wheatgerm
2 tsp raisins
1/2 tsp orange zest
2 tsp orange juice
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamon, and pepper to taste
Honey to taste

Squish up the dates by hand until they form a sticky, gooey mess. Add in the dry ingredients, squishing until it sticks together somewhat, and then add the OJ. Season with spices to taste. If it’s too wet, add a few more oats, and if it’s too dry, just add some more dates or OJ. There’s no exact science here people, it’s all a matter of personal preference. Enjoy!

And now, I’m off to the lovely bi-weekly grind of making disgusting sandwiches for the carnivorous masses. Chiao, baby!

Hello, and welcome to my blog! For that matter, I’ll welcome myself to the world of blogging. Handshakes, handshakes all around.

On to business, then. But don’t despair! For my business tastes goooood. An avid vegetarian cook and baker, I’m always fiddling around in the kitchen, forever in search for the ultimate food experience.

Inspired by the likes of Bittersweet Blog and the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen, I’ve decided to venture into the unknown waters of food blogging. My culinary triumphs will be posted on here, as well as my miserable failures (hey, they’ll at least have entertainment value :) My foodlike endeavors will sometimes be joined by knitting, sewing, or other acts of random craftiness.

To get this ball rolling, here’s what I cooked up yesterday between school and work. In despair at the thought of another Veggie Delight sanwich for dinner, I decided to whip up a special snack to ward off the oncoming monotony blues. The crackers are Flax Crackers from the awesome cookbook “How It All Vegan”. Spiced with basil, rosemary, and garlic; sprinkled liberally with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, these flaky creations were hot out of the oven and begging for companionship.

To rectify their lonely situation (it was Valentine’s day, after all) I began to whip up a Mexican dip called Pico de Galla. That’s where I ran into problems. You see, the recipe (also from “How It All Vegan”) called for fresh jalapenos, oregano, lots of lime juice, and other ingredients that I didn’t have in the house (I swear my pantry’s conspiring against me). Having already diced a tomato, I decided to fudge it and bring Italy to the party. A few moments later, and Pico de Pesto was the result!

Pico de Pesto- makes enough for 1

1 sundried tomato

Boiling water

1 roma tomato, diced

1-2 tbsp onion, finely diced

3/4-1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp basil pesto

pinch of cayenne

liberal sprinkle of garlic powder

Basil, salt and pepper to taste

1) Pour boiling water over sundried tomato and let it soak until it’s tender and easily sliceable (10 minutes?) Then chop it up.

2) In the meantime, combine all other ingredients. There’s no science here, people- adjust flavours and quantities to fit your taste buds. Add the chopped sundried tomato, give it a mix, and dig in!

This one gets better as it sits and the flavours have a chance to marinate