Happy Halloween!

What a better way to celebrate the holiday than with a Jack-O-Lantern! But this isn't just any Jack-O-Lantern, it's one made from the PPK's Pumpkin Pie Brownies, of course. I hope everyone has a fun (and safe) Halloween!

Oh, I almost forgot! What's Halloween without costumes, right? I think I'm going to dress up in my usual "witch" costume (really just me dressed in jeans, a corset, and wearing a witch hat, but it counts, right?). What is everyone else dressing up as?

P.S.- Tomorrow is also a special day for two reasons. I'm curious to see if any of you can guess both reasons why.....

Only 5 Days to go!

... till Halloween, that is! There's no hiding that it's my favorite holiday, so I'm pretty darn excited. Anyways, onto what I've been eating lately. I've been able to try out a few new recipes from Vcon and VCTOTW and, thankfully, they've all been outstanding. I tried out the Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe Rotelle (subbing broccoli for the broccoli rabe since I love broccoli so much) for dinner one night and I'm in love with it! The best part of this dish without a doubt was the spicy tempeh. It was so juicy and flavorful and if you haven't already, you have to make it! I will for sure make this dish again but, since it did take quite a bit of time, I know I will at least be making the tempeh on its own very regularly.

I was also able to make the Tofu Florentine from Vcon and it's another winner! The broiled tofu itself didn't quite "wow" me, but set atop a crispy english muffin, sauteed spinach, and smothered in Cheezy Sauce, it all tasted delicious. I have some Cheezy Sauce left over so I can't wait to see what else I can do with it (I'm thinking in a tofu scramble burrito, maybe? yum.....)


My mom had some women over from her work Friday night for a party and I was on cupcake duty. My mom chose the Chai Latte cupcakes and the Maple Cupcakes with Sugared Walnuts from VCTOTW to fit in with the autumn theme of her party. She even went out and bought a cupcake stand to display them all (and you can see in the picture that some were already taken off and eaten before I was able to get a picture!). Everyone loved both varieties, but I think the Chai Latte cupcakes needed either a glaze or frosting on top because most people chose the Maple ones because of the frosting. Either way, everything was a hit! Also, as a side note- the sugared walnuts that go along with the Maple cupcakes are the best things ever. I had about half of them left over after making the cupcakes and my sister and I ate all of them because we just couldn't stop snacking on them.

The Fruits of My Labor

Here it is: my home-grown butternut squash! While I only got two squashes from my plant (I suspect some critters were snacking on the blossoms...), it was worth it because I was so proud of the little guys! I went back and forth decided what to make with my two precious squashes until I finally came to a conclusion:

I, of course, had to try the Butternut Squash Soup from VWAV! I will admit that I would have been perfectly happy ending the recipe after the squash was roasted and found myself snacking on it as it cooled far too much, but I was sooo happy with the final product and remembered how much I love squash-based soups. My family loved it as well and so did many of my dad's coworkers who were lucky enough to have this for lunch the next day (I sent off the leftovers with my dad to work). I can't wait to make this soup again and maybe some sort of variation? I'm sad that I will have to used store bought squash, but I have a feeling it will still be amazing.

Quick, Convinient, and Oh So Yummy

My favorite healthy, super easy, and quick meal will always be a big ol' plate of hummus and veggies- this time I added in some Tamari Roasted Chickpeas from Ed&BV for extra protein and, well, just because I'm addicted to them. Oh! And I even made my own hummus this time using the recipe from Vcon. I've always wanted to make my own hummus but never felt I could until a few months ago when I finally got a food processor and now I see how much I was missing out on. This hummus turned out great and I have been fighting my mom for it since she's been eating it non-stop!

I can already tell this meal will become another addiction of mine for while. The Miso Bulgar Pilaf from Bittersweet is truley delicious. The only change I made was substituting the peas for edamame because I don't like peas and I figured that edamame would go pretty well with the flavor of this pilaf. Everything about this dish worked and I still have a hard time believing a recipe with such simple ingredients resulted in something with such a complex flavor. Also, my mom has decided this week to try eating much less meat from now on for health reasons. While she is not a vegetarian, I'm so proud of her for this decision because every little bit counts no matter what the motives. And, now I have to make this dish a lot more becuase she loves it as well and it's a greta meatless meal for her to have around the house when she isn't sure what else to eat. In fact, I think my whole family will love this pilaf, so I might just make it this week as an official "family dinner"...hm....we'll see....

On a side note- happy Vegan Mofo, everyone! While I myself am not participating (but I hope to at some point in the future) due to lack of time, I'm so glad to see so many great blogs participating and I love reading all of the blog posts everyday.