Mmmm Peanut Butter. Glorious Peanut Butter

The very first thing I ate on Easter Morning was a big honking spoonful of peanut better, and then I had another one. I ate it so fast I was like a dog trying to get it off the roof of my mouth, constantly licking and having trouble swallowing. This was all while CB was still in bed, it was early in the morning. I climbed back into bed, after satisfying my PB crack addiction, thinking CB was still asleep - "you reek of peanut butter" came his groggy morning voice from under the covers, "happy easter I guess." Yes, Jesus had risen, and I could once again eat peanut butter, it is was a good day.

Not being satisfied with the plain old peanut butter, I decided to toast up some almonds and try to make my own almond butter. I simply took the small tray from the toaster oven, laid out about 3/4 of a cup of almonds on it and toasted it for about 7 minutes. I then let the almonds cool and then put them in my little food processor with a little kosher salt and let her rip for about 5 minutes - blap dee bloo ALMOND BUTTER. It was good, rich, thick, a hint of salt, a success. CB has been eating it in the morning all week. When it's gone, I'm going to try to make another variation, maybe cinnamon raisin or ginger. Do you ever make your own nut butters? How do you do it?

PS. Its so good to be back. I missed this whole cooking and writing shit.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

I made a bunch of food for my birthday, and it's gone. Actually, this small dish of hummus was the only thing left over the next day. I didn't get pictures of the other stuff I made because I hate having to explain why I'm taking pictures of my food to people. So I didn't take pictures and posts without pictures is like a spoon without peanut butter on it, f'ing useless. So sorry, I'll have to make the food again and post about it another time.

In awesome birthday news CB got me the newest version of the Garmin GPS running watch for my birthday and I could not be happier, I've waited for this damn watch since the started making it about 5 years ago and I finally have it. YEAH! And my mother-in-law mailed me the Veganomicon cookbook for my birthday so I won't bitch and moan about her at all in this one post. I can't wait to make the recipes in that book when I get back. So, yes, when I get back, whirlwind business trips start tomorrow. See you at the end of the month. LATER.

Roasted Garlic Hummus (Reduced Fat)

For this recipe I simply took the tired and true ATK, Best Light Recipes version and added two whole heads of garlic that I toasted in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour. I took the bulbs, cut off the tops so there was a flat top surface and the garlic was exposed, poured a little olive oil over the garlic, wrapped it in foil and placed on a cookie sheet in the oven for 1 hour. I let it cool then squeezed the garlic goodness into the hummus as I processed it. YUM!

Rating = So Damn Good

International Women's Day....and My Birthday

So Saturday is International Women's Day. It's also my birthday, which I find appropriate because I'm a raging feminist...oh wait, that's not right...I'm a raging bitch. Kidding? don't count on it. I had no idea that March 8th was International Women's Day, and I'm not sure how one is supposed to go around celebrating such an occasion, but I intend to spend it with friends, maybe drink a little too much wine, and eat a little too much delightfully rich food and then open presents from my dear husband who always is so thoughtful with gifts, especially birthday gifts.

I also want to mention that I didn't post this week because I was in Pittsburgh for work, which in and of itself was a bit blah, but I did find a few hours to spent some time in the Andy Warhol Museum which was a lot of fun. If you find yourself in Pittsburgh with a little time to spare, do check it out. There was an amazing installation there by an artist names Ron Mueck that was just one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. If you have the opportunity to see one of his installations, please go, see it.

And I do have to mention that March is one of my busiest months for work and I will be all but absent from the blog until the end of March. I will try to post some things here and there, but this will probably be it until at least March 26th when my business travel will ease.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy, daylight savings time enjoying month and I can't wait to write to you at the end of it.

All my best - talk to you soon. JB

Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones

So, yesterday I had a panel discussion at the unGodly hour of 7:00 in the frigging morning. Why the hell in the name of all that is good and holy would you schedule your panel discussion 7 hours past midnight? I don't get it, why not 8:00, really, 8:00 is a very nice time to start your discussion. Anyway, this discussion started with a continental type breakfast networking thing before hand; you know bagels, pastries, fruit and teeny tiny little plates, and no tables, so if you want to eat, you are forced to stand with plate in hand, while you juggle your coffee in the other hand and now you don't have an extra hand jetting out of your chest with which to eat with so you just basically don't eat. Awesome people thanks for planning your discussion at 7:00 in the morning and making it completely impossible to eat a breakfast before hand.

I bring this up because at the end of the discussion at 9:00 I could have dropped dead from hunger, so I went to the breakfast buffet and picked up a piece of breakfast bread, I think it was lemon, that had been pre cut into half slices, so it was not a whole slice, it was a half a slice, and I was starving. As I placed the half slice on my napkin a man, whom I have never met in my life walked up beside me and asked "how many calories do you think are in there?" Are you fucking kidding me? If it were the summer and I was wearing slip on flats I may have just taken my free hand, (the one not holding the mega calorie laden half slice) slipped of my flat and hit him the the face with the dirty sole of my shoe. At what point did it become PC for a man to come up to a women he has never met and discuss her caloric intake? Are you socially fucking retarded asshole?

My point is, I'm a small person. I'm not fat, I'm not thin, I'm what I refer to as "sporty", athletic if you will. But I guarantee you if I was overweight or obese this fuckface would not have felt that he could speak to me about the amount of calories that I was about to put into my face. Why is is ok for people to comment on what an average weight person eats, especially when they wouldn't feel comfortable saying the same thing to an overweight person? I'm lost here. When did it become socially acceptable to make comments to a woman who is at a healthy weight about her weight, or why is it ok for someone to tell another person that they are too skinny, but telling someone that they are too fat is taboo. I just don't get it. Why the double standard?

So what was my response to this question? I looked right at him and said "I don't give a shit how many calories are in it, I'm hungry." and then shoved it in my face.

So, can you say RANT? Sorry folks, just rubbed me the wrong way.

These scones were my own recipe that I made up. They were good, not the best, but definitely good, tasty and obviously low fat.

Vegan Blueberry Lemon Scones

2 C flour

3/4 C oats

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C white sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

salt

2 tbs lemon juice plus zest of one lemon

1/2 C soy milk

1 C frozen blueberries

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Add wet to dry, mix until incorporated. Fold in blueberries. Drop onto greased cookie sheet (or slipat). Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick comes clean.

Rating = Damn Good

Sauteed Spinach with Feta and Pine Nuts

Something you may not know about me; I love spinach. Loooove it, love it, love it. I feel bad for people who don't like it. If I could eat it everyday I would. I try to eat it everyday, whether it be spinach omelets, sauteed spinach, pasta with spinach, whatever. I love it. absolutely hated it growing up. I don't know what happened, my taste buds grew up or something, but now I love it. Why is it that you can hate some foods when you are younger, but love them when you are older? I don't get it because some of the foods that I hated when I was younger, I still hate; mushrooms, raw tomatoes and cantaloupe (I have a serious gag reflex to cantaloupe, just the name induces a little vomit in my mouth, blech.) But, some of the things I hated when I was younger I love now, spinach, eggplant, summer squash, onions - why do I love these now, but not the others?

I got this recipe out of the latest issue of Everyday Food. It's delicious.

Sauteed Spinach with Feta and Pine Nuts
1 bag spinach rinsed, drained and trimmed of large stems
feta cheese for sprinkling
pine nuts for sprinkling
olive oil to coat pan
salt and pepper to taste

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Heat the oil in the skillet (I added the salt and pepper to the skillet at this time to) add the spinach, as much as will fit in the pan, allow to cook down and add spinach a bit at a time until all is added. When the spinach has wilted down plate and top with feta cheese and pine nuts. Yum. (We served this with grilled salmon and it was perfect.)

Rating = Damn Good

No Pic Vegan Oatmeal Scones

Honestly, there is no picture of these scones because we ate them, all, rather quickly. They were here, and then they were gone and I didn't get a picture. Sorry. But be assured, they were damn good people. One of the best vegan scone recipes I've tried yet.

There's a lot going on in the life of JB_CB right now, and it involves real estate. CB and I decided to buy a house, yes, a big honking house. This is weird for us becuase we've always lived in teeny tiny apartments or slightly bigger than teeny tiny condos in the City, so the whole, multiple bedrooms, backyards with grass, attic and basement for storage, is all foreign to us.

So we put our house on the market last week and to say that it's been freaking crazy is to put it mildly, we've already had 3 second showings, 12 couples came to the first open house and we've already gotten an offer (which we declined, but that's ok, more will come). What's crazy is that CB and I haven't exactly found a house to move into yet, we've just picked the town and the most desireable streets in that town, so now, we're crapping our pants just a little bit now that it looks like our condo is going to sell much quicker than we anticipated, and we could possibly not have found a house yet, hence being homeless. Maybe I should pimp out my cooking and baking skills...will feed you for room and board? Huh? Anyway, the whole having the condo on the market is not the ideal situation for a food blogger becuase unfortunately the house has to be in "show condition" at all times, which means I can't make a mess in the kitchen and just leave it there, so for a little while, the food posts will be scarce, but I promise, when I have that big honkin suburban chefs kitchen the posts will be fan-fucking-tastic.

Vegan Oatmeal Scone About.com Vegetarian Cooking
1/2 cup vegan margarine or Crisco (I used 1/4 cup soy butter, 1/4 cup applesauce)
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup raisins, optional
1/3 cup vanilla or plain soy milk

Preheat oven to 375F.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Cut in margarine until mixture becomes uniformly crumbly. Stir in oats and raisins.

Add soy milk and mix gently until a soft dough begins to cling together.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a 7 inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges and place them on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown and firm when pressed lightly in the center.

Makes 8 scones.

Rating = So Damn Good