Friday, May 15, 2009

Raw Tacos and Pretty Days

The weather here in Denver has been delightfully warm - perhaps even hot by some standards, but I'm from Florida so I laugh in the face of low 80s with no humidity. The result of this weather, in addition to running more often and sleeping with the windows open, is that I've been craving cool, refreshing meals. Enter raw foods. I recently made raw tacos using red cabbage leaves as the shells and filled them with raw corn salsa (Yellow Rose Recipes) and an almond cheeze that I based on a recipe from Vegan Fusion. Topped with lettuce and cilantro, it was a fresh, satisfying meal. Some avocado would have also made a lovely addition.

Another warm-weather perk: hiking with my husband and our friends.
Shawn, Norton, and Lacy on Mount Sanitas

In conclusion, I'm looking forward to a beautiful summer (my first spent living outside of Florida) filled with delicious eats and outdoor activities.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Reason #346 Why Denver is Awesome

Vegan BBQ chicken pizza from The Rebellion. The clincher: it's cheap, too. Word to your mother.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Cookies for My Homegirls

Chocolate-and-rainbow-chip cookies for my mama

Since Mother's Day will soon be upon us, let me take a moment to tell you about my own mother. She is an incredibly sweet, loving, selfless, supportive, empathetic, badass chick. She reads like a fiend and, like all the women in her family, is batshit crazy (but in a good way - I mean, unless you cross her, and then she's apt to cut a bitch). And it is her who I have to thank for my stunning good looks and ravenous sweet tooth (thanks, Mom).

For Mother's Day I always used to make her a big brunch, but now that I live 1800 miles away, a care package will have to do. I sent her the above cookies (my regular chocolate chip recipe with some rainbow chips thrown in for festivity) and a couple of books that Shawn and I thought she'd like. Dessert and reading material are a surefire way to my mama's heart.

I also recently did some baking for the other important lady in my life: my dog, Dobby. Shawn and I adopted her from a shelter in 2003 when she was about a year and a half old. Not a day goes by where I don't thank various deities that this smelly beast is a part of our lives. We don't know her exact birthday, but we know it's probably somewhere around this time of year, so last weekend I made cookies just for her.
Peanut-butter-carob-chip cookies for the Dobster

When I remember her sweet, scrappy face looking back at us from behind those bars at the shelter as she stood on her hind legs, imploring us to love her, it makes me want to spoil her rotten. And so that is what I do, and that is what every animal deserves.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms, whether your children are of the human or furry variety.