avocado tempeh blt

Avocado + Tempeh Bacon = Love

I find it hard to dislike anything about this sandwich, I find it hard to dislike anything when avocado is involved. Homemade tempeh bacon is paired with avocado then sandwiched between two slices of toasted bread with spicy arugula & greenhouse tomatoes. This is a super easy sandwich to make on the fly, it is the sandwich that Justin and I rely on when we are procrastinating about dinner - super easy and always a crowd pleaser, our go to sandwich.

"cheezy" potato broccoli soup

I never tire of soup - take last week for example, I had a very long work week which consisted of a 8:30am-8:00pm 4 day week which meant no gym time and absolutely no desire to cook dinner when I got home. The super hero of the story - soup, chowder & stew cooked  in my crockpot! There is nothing better than coming home from work and having dinner ready to enjoy without a second thought.

Justin and I never tire of soups this time of year, if I had my way we would eat soup at least once a day; and sometimes we do. The past few weekends we have been home bound due to snowy windy weather, a couple Sundays ago I made this soup which made the entire house smell so so good.

sweet or savory baguettes

 

Despite the pictures in this post not being super pretty or all that great, I still had to share. You know, how could I not share a recipe for chocolate almond stuffed baguette or the most amazing olive & artichoke stuffed baguette. Come on people - bread and chocolate? 

I think so, it would be a crime not to share this with you.

multi seeded crackers

Homemade crackers - they have been on my must make list for over a year! To tell you the truth, for reasons unknown, making my own crackers intimidated me. Well not anymore; they actually are super easy to make and so much tastier than your typical store bought version, not to mention a heck of a lot cheaper.

One of my favorite snacks - crackers & hummus. I found myself day dreaming about these crackers during the day, calling Justin panicking 'cause I thought he would eat the last of the crackers before I got home. Luckily he knows me all too well and made sure to save the last of the crackers for my afternoon snack.

wild mushroom + pistachio pesto pasta

Remember that recipe I promised? Well here it is!  I don't often eat pasta, but sometimes I crave a carby pasta meal - I do love quinoa pasta but recently fallen in love with Hodgson Spinach Spaghetti - it is amazing! You can easily use your favorite pasta and mushroom combination. Currently I have been lusting over these amazing mushrooms I found at my local winters farmers market - this man knows his 'shrooms and it shows in the taste and texture of the mushrooms. I used a combination of fresh king oyster mushrooms and dried matsutake mushrooms. Matsutake mushrooms are one of the most prized mushrooms autumn flavors that represent Japan. The simplicity of this meal, in my opinion, made every flavor used truly shine.

spinach pistachio pesto

I love a good pesto. Pesto is so versatile; slather it on pizza, add it to a wrap or toss it with some pasta and veggies- you really can't go wrong however you serve it up !

Not only does pesto have a ton of heart healthy qualities, it is super easy to make. I had been dreaming of pesto pasta...and pesto pizza and pesto wraps - it was obvious that I needed to make a batch sooner rather than later. Thus, the spinach pistachio pesto was born.

"cheezy" kale chips

Oh the kale chip. We were not properly introduce until about a year ago - at VegFest in Baltimore. It was at this event I had my first kale chip - Brad's Raw Nacho Cheeze Kale Chips, freakin' a they were good!

The only problem with store bought kale chips- they are expensive and I can eat a whole package in one sitting- this very quickly did not become a very realistic "everyday" afternoon snack.

egg-less salad sandwich

Sometimes I just want a classic sandwich - growing up my Dad often times would save me the other half of his egg salad sandwich from corner deli that he bought for lunch. Once in a while my mom would make egg salad but not often, she couldn't stand the smell of hard boiled eggs and frankly neither can I. One of Justin's favorite sandwiches before becoming vegan was egg salad, so I found myself making egg salad often which left our house smelling like a big egg fart - not so nice. Well since we no longer eat eggs, but still long for the occasional egg salad sandwich we both use to enjoyed, I ended up playing around with a egg less version.

pb banana chocolate chip granola

Lately I cannot get enough of homemade granola- seriously I forgot how easy and tasty the granola you make yourself is. A batch made at home literally takes me 5 minutes to throw together then only 30-35 minutes in the oven which gives me time to catch a quick episode of Arrested Development.

(yes, I am a little late in the game - I am finally getting around to watching this hilarious series from the beginning all thanks to my sisters encouragement)

bok choi + king oyster mushroom quinoa

Can I tell you how amazing it is to once again have fresh produce inspire my everyday meals. I really thought inspiration like this wouldn't be here again until late Spring. As I mentioned in Monday's post, I am lucky enough to have an amazing Winter Farmers Market just a short drive away. The number of Farmers and the amount of produce and veggies at the market had me in giggles, I was happier than a kid in a candy store.

breakfast sandwich

Sunday mornings when we are not enjoying our beloved pancakes you will find Justin and I noshing on breakfast sandwiches and home fries with a side of fresh fruit. When Justin became vegan one of the things he missed most was his beloved breakfast sandwich. He hadn't yet started to love tofu "eggs" and daiya - he still isn't head over heels in love with daiya, but he is in love with this breakfast sandwich. It took him 6 months to just to try a bite , the good news is after one bite he was hooked.