lately...

i haven't been posting very frequently.

but! today i am finally back home and will probably have a bit more free time. not to mention the bonus of my dad's garden at my disposal. what more could a girl ask for?!

seriously though, as i was eating some of the asparagus from my dad's garden tonight, i thought about how much going vegan has changed my perspective of food [2 years this june!]. i am so enthralled with the color and smell and taste of an item. and i am always thinking about the possibility of what items i can mix and create and eat together. it's incredibly different from the thoughtless gorging on disgusting food that i used to do way back when i was a wee little girl. i just needed to throw that in there...

on to the food!

i got these rice&&bean combos to try--the pictures are of the red beans, but the package is from the black. i like the red beans better. they had a different [&&better flavor]. i hope i can find these at the store again b/c they are really great for a quick meal.

this asparagus was from the farmer's market and it was delicious! i would proclaim my love for liquid smoke once more, but i think you've gotten enough of that in the past. so, i used liquid smoke, lots&&lots of garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder, and a dash of olive oil. then, steamed them in the microwave anddddd YUM.

the last evening i was in town, i didn't want to make anything i'd have leftovers with, so i just ate one of those microwavable frozen bags of corn. it was sweet and delicious.

my final review is up

Read it here.

such a busy little girl!

i have been doing lots of things lately and my life is a whirlwind. i don't feel like it will ever stop.

this is a little rundown:::

lots of raisins to eat on sunny days on the quad between classes


pizzzzzzzza! i had crust in the freezer so...i made pizza twice in one week. it was divine. it had artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, onion, and garlic. YUM.



i got some bubble tea yesterday b/c it was HOT outside. it's blueberry. i think i'm going to try somewhere else b/c it wasn't fabulous, just so-so. i really like the tapioca balls inside though--such a great idea!

today was the first farmer's market of the season in urbana. i made the 45 or so minute walk over there this morning. boy am i glad i did!

i've heard a lot of hype about this place called veggie trails [their website: HERE]. i am writing my last column for my vegan column on this little food stand. how great for urbana! i had to wait a long time for them to begin serving lunch, but it was well worth it. this is the texas bbq wrap. my review will be up sometime next week.
i got some cilantro so that i could have it on hand at home. i wish i had more hands so that i could have gotten some basil and oregano. perhaps, i will get some when i am home again.

i got some pumpkin butter made by the people in the amish community of arthur, il. my best friend's husband's friend is from there so i thought it was special.
i also went to a march and protest regarding SB 1070 that was signed into law on april 23. it allows police in arizona to pull over people they suspect to be illegal immigrants. my question is this: how do they decide that someone 'looks' illegal??? and also, let's think about the arbitrariness of borders and the idea that they are these fixed geographical loctaions when they are fluid and it's obvious in the fact that they have been changed in the past. anyway, that's my spiel about that--if you want to read more about things of this nature you can check out my other blog.


when i got home, i was in the mood for something cold and yummy. soooo, i made banana ice cream. i've seen this on so many other people's blogs and i have wanted to try it for so long. lucky for me my bananas were overripe [too overripe to eat even for me] so i froze them last night. i used the food processor on them even though i'm not sure it was so great for the blade since they were frozen solid. hmm...oh well.
as you can see i went a little overboard with the chocolate...
oh! i also got asparagus which i'll post when i make it this week.

t-minus 5 days til moving day. yiiiikes! it came so quickly.

latest review is up

apparently, i should have reread my article before sending it. the article could have been written much better. you win some, you lose some i figure....

you can read it here.

also, i had another genius [but sort of common sense] day yesterday, but i don't have time to write about it.

soon! soon! soon!

i hope the article appeases you for the time being....just a couple more projects/exams/papers to get out of the way!

some days i feel like a genius. other days not so much.

last week, i realized i had some coconut milk still hanging out in the freezer. sooooo, i thought, how can i use this?! i wanted to make a smoothie, but had no bananas. and i have no flour or anything of that nature. SO! i put it on toast. with cinnamon and sugar. and it was absolutely divine. you see, my mom used to make us these little things called 'cigars' when we were sick back in the day. she'd spread a little butter on toast and then some cinnamon and sugar and cut the toast into long strips--hence the cigar name. actually, her mom used to do that for her too. [how special]

but anyway, the coconut milk gets slightly thicker after it's frozen, so it was great to put on toast. it sort of tasted like what i remember cream puffs to have tasted like. i'm not sure, but i certainly devoured all the slices i made over about a two-day period. oh yeah, i also used it with oatmeal too. oh yummmmm, i love coconut milk more than anything.

i still am trying to finish off those oats, so i had them with bananas and a little more than a pinch of brown sugar. perfecto!
i also had a 'spanish side' from those pre-packaged meals thingers. i had them a lot last spring so this must be some weird craving for them once again. i also need to use them up before moving which is becoming increasingly soon, so what the heck!



so, i never mentioned what i had at the ymca dinner and auction or luncheon.

at the auction/dinner i had the most delectable stuffed eggplant. i had never tried it before and so i am going to be making it a lot this summer [I LOVED IT]. it was stuffed with steamed carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. served over a bed of rice. YUM.

at the luncheon, they had wild rice [wasn't that great], but the steamed veggies [red/yellow peppers, carrots, broccoli, etc.] were great, they had a basic pasta with marinara sauce, but it had artichokes and mushrooms in it which were so, so great! and a fruit cup for dessert.

i could not have been happier!

well, one more week of class! time is flyinggggg.

i always find it interesting to come up with random meals when i'm trying to use up the food i've stored throughout the semester or even year. i had a can of black beans, some hashbrowns, and a little over a half onion left. i also had some soy vay teriakyi sauce leftover and that with liquid smoke was my ultimate recipe. it is so good. i know it looks quite gross in this picture, but i can assure you that i can't wait to get home to eat the rest of it. the BBQ flavor of liquid smoke mixed with the soy sauce and sesame seeds is just divine.
cucumbers have a fresh, spring taste to them, don't you think? i've been having those for lunch b/c of their perfect portability. also i like them for the way they taste sitting on a bench in the sun.
i've moved on from my oats with bananas to toast with bananas and pumpkin butter. i think i have to retract my statement about the oatmeal, banana, syrup being my absolute favorite. the pumpkin butter is from an orchard at home that i used to work for a year before high school and into high school. the place holds such great memories. not only that, but there's something truly delicious about the crunch of toast with the soft banana and pumpkin flavor.

this ugly little picture is a pre-made package of noodles and such. i wasn't feeling well last sunday and this seemed like a perfect little dinner.

it's getting warmer here and i make...

CHILI?!



i had to. i'm using up as much as i can so that i won't have to bring it home. i had a lot of canned goods b/c of their storage capacity. but now, it's time to use them up. this actually has two cans of black beans, a can of corn, some onions that were in the freezer, some spaghetti sauce [also frozen && leftover], and frozen hashbrowns [about half the bag!]. some liquid smoke piled in with those ingredients and it is to die for. i always end up eating wayyyy too much b/c i love the combo.

i am stillllll working on those oats and that last bit of syrup.

i do have tons of bananas which i am happy about. i had one today for lunch while sitting on a bench on the quad. it was almost overripe and that is my favorite.

and raisins have been a part of my intake lately...they are yummy!

what i'm really craving is more apples.

and much, much, much more oranges.

hopefully, next week the chili will be gone.

also! i am going to a dinner/silent auction for the YMCA on friday [i'm the president of one of their student programs] and the vegan option is stuffed eggplant! oh, and there is a lunch on saturday, but i'm not sure what the vegan option will be. i'll let you know how it was!

this is what my life consists of right now...

i have and will continue to be busy until the month of may is part over. however, i am finding such joy in my busy schedule and all the various things i need to accomplish before the school year's end.

i have been eating lots&lots of fruit lately....

this has been my go-to breakfast for the past two weeks. before it was without the banana, but i won't go back b/c the banana just adds another tremendously necessary dimension to the oatmeal. i'd venture to say that oatmeal with banana and syrup is my favorite food at the moment. it doesn't hurt that i'm trying to use up the huge container of oatmeal i had so that i won't have to lug it back in the move coming soon.

lots of grapes b/c they are portable and sweet and refreshing.

the popcorn is from before spring break...seriously, i was eating popcorn like it was my jobbbbb. it's so yummy though. i'm out for now, but you can bet there will be tons of popcorn in my life this summer. it's kind of a special thing my dad and i always have together.

lots of diet dr. pepper with lots&lots&lots of ice.

dates. dates. dates. they are so delicious and sweet! why would i ever opt for candy when these babies are perfect to ease that sweet tooth!? and plenty of oranges b/c they are so juicy and they are great b/c they are portable.

Chipotle Review is up!

Read the Review Here

busy as a bee

i haven't been eating real meals lately mostly due to the amount of time i am away from the apartment. i just don't have the time or energy. today, i have been working on one of my papers in hopes that i will finish it [not very likely, unfortunately]. anyway...

this is the cauliflower and carrots i steamed and covered in green bell pepper and mushroom spaghetti sauce. it was yummy.

i found this little container of flavoring that needed to be used up so instead of making a giant pitcher, i have just been adding it to my glasses of water. it tasted really good for some reason and so i've had massive amounts of water which is great!

the red pepper hummus was something i brought back from break. my mom bought for when i was at home [i love her], but i never ended up eating it. leave two train rides totaling 5+ hours to make me devour it with pretzels.


and finally, i have the photos from the next article i am writing. i apologize for the poor lighting in the pictures, it wasn't the best spot to be photographing my food. i went to this little place called courier cafe. it used to be a newspaper office, but they converted it. the story is quite interesting but i cannot recall it at the moment. i ended up with the veggie chili and the half bagel with artichoke, lettuce, olive, tomato, and a pickle. it was divine. there was a ton of basil on the artichokes which you could smell immediately after she placed the platter on the table. it was a lovely experience even though it was quite a hike to get there. i was exhausted afterwards.

i can't wait for summertime. not only to be at home again with my family, but also b/c of the access to all of the veggies from my dad's garden. it will be absolutely grand.