Update | the past two weeks...

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... have been really great for me :) I neglected any blogging because I hadn't come up with any new recipes or anything worth blogging about, and I didn't really have the time/energy to write up a blog post worth reading.

I was back and forth between Long Island and South Jersey with my boyfriend Chris for the two weeks. What was meant to just be a couple days spent up in New York for his birthday turned into an awesome two weeks with some working in between.

I ended up being able to spend the 4th of July with Chris which was really nice since I got to meet the majority of his family. His family is not only huge but hilarious, and there wasn't a dull moment at the 4th of July BBQ at his uncle's house.

Chris also took me out to Port Jeff, one of the nice, quaint towns on the water, during that stay. We got to walk around, have a fantastic vegetarian meal at Tiger Lily Cafe, buy some loose leaf tea and incense, and just soak up the salty, summer air and have a good time. We also realized how few pictures we have together where we're not making disgusting faces, so I got this one really quickly when we were stopped at a red light on the way to Port Jeff:

Half of our faces are covered with our sunglasses... but hey, it's a start! The whole not-distorting-our-faces-for-pictures thing is foreign to us.

Of course, I couldn't wait to give Chris his presents, so I ended up giving most of them BEFORE his actual birthday. I managed to keep the one present I was most excited for (two tickets to an Atmosphere concert) a surprise until the day of his birthday and I think he was decently excited :) The night prior to his birthday was fantasic - spent with his parents and a big chunk of his cousins, aunts, and uncles out at The Patio listening to some live music and getting dragged onto the dance floor. The night finished off with a ride on a firetruck. Not too shabby, right? The day of his actual birthday was a lazy day for us until some family came over for dinner, cake, and gift-opening. 

The two weeks ended with me catching whatever head cold type thing his grandmother was recovering from. I still need a box of tissues near by at all times, my voice is reminiscent of a pre-pubescent boy, and I'm still pretty achey, but I feel WORLDS better than how I felt just yesterday and the day before. All the tissues were worth it, though.

In between all the day dates, movie nights, exploring, and just enjoying each other's company, I had a couple days scheduled to work - a fare trade off, if you ask me, since I got to spend some of my off days with Chris and his amazing family. I feel quite lucky to now know such a loving, spontaneous, accepting, and flat-out awesome group of people. I now know where Chris gets his genuinely good-hearted personality from. I'm not one for being all sappy and whatnot, but I'm really happy with this guy. I'm also really happy his family likes me and that my family is equally as fond of him. We're a really good match for each other. Chris makes me forget about why I'm sad and I can honestly say I'm extremely happy with where I'm at in life right now, despite some recent crappy realizations, and Chris helped me get to this point. He's just great, okay?

I'll  be back to my normal blogging routine as SOON as I go grocery shopping and start coming up with new recipes!

-Sam :)

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Update | A tiny burst of inspiration

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Lately I have been really lacking in the inspiration department, but can you blame me? I'm working myself to the ground, so even if I was inspired, I wouldn't have the time to execute any of my ideas. Anyway, tonight I felt some inspiration out of nowhere and decided to paint a little to have a few more things to add to my art store. They're not masterpieces but I like them and I hope someone, somewhere, might like them too and maybe want to hang them up somewhere in their house or office or bedroom or wherever.

If you're interested, you can click here to take a look at my art store. The link will also always be in my link bar up at the top of my blog.

I put these pieces up on there along with a few that I've had completed for a while.

If you check out my art store and find something you like, thanks! If you don't, that's cool too :)

- Sam

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Recipe | Spicy Lettuce Wraps with Seitan and Sauteed Peppers

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Okay, so they're not really wraps because they're small... but I didn't know what else to call them. They're delicious, though, and that's all that matters.

Makes 12-15 lettuce wraps

A couple tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 12oz package of Seitan strips
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato, diced
1 head of any sturdy lettuce. I used bib lettuce, but romaine would work fine too. Just pull off the leaves, wash them, and pat them dry. Keep in mind that iceberg lettuce has basically no nutritional value, so try and stay away from that if at all possible
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Chile Lime hot sauce (I used Cholula brand)
Salt and pepper to taste

Feel free to add more or less of the hot sauce. I enjoy spicy foods, so I was pretty generous with it.

Set a large skillet coated with olive oil to medium heat. Start browning off your seitan to get it nice and crispy. This should take around 7-8 minutes. Keep the seitan moving in the pan so it doesn't burn. Once the seitan is crispy, go ahead and add the pepper slices. Sweat them for about 5 minutes and then add the cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Spoon the seitan and peppers into your little lettuce cups and top with your chopped tomatoes. I topped mine with some honey mustard as well to balance out the spice.

Enjoy! :)

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Recipe | Vegan Blackberry Jam

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If you're anything like me, you love a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich... quite frequently. However, buying organic jellies and jams all the time can end up being expensive. Not to mention, a lot of times companies will use gelatin (an animal product) to thicken their jellies and jams. So, a simple solution to these issues: make your own! This recipe is really simple and very easy to customize to your own preferences.

12 oz bag of frozen blackberries (or any frozen fruit, really), thawed
A few tbsp raw sugar (I used about 4 tbsp)
The juice of one orange
The juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp calcium water
1 tbsp fruit pectin

A couple things that should be explained right off the bat:

1. I think it's standard that all packets of fruit pectin come with a separate packet of monocalcium phosphate to activate the pectin to do its job. Mine did, and that's what the "calcium water" in the ingredient list refers too. My box of pectin called for that to be mixed with water and added to the recipe before the pectin. Just follow the directions on your box and you should be okay.

2. I enjoy a jam that is less sweet and a little bit more runny/not as gelled up. Therefore, I did not add nearly as much sugar as some recipes call for and I added less than the suggested amount of pectin to my fruit mixture. Customize this recipe to cater to your preferences! It's very adjustable.

Combine the bag of thawed, frozen fruit, orange juice, and lemon juice in a sauce pan. Begin mashing up whatever fruit you chose. Mash it to the consistency that you desire. I left mine quite chunky. Bring to a simmer on low heat and dissolve the sugar. Add your pectin according to the directions on your box. You can transfer your fruit mixture to whatever you plan on storing it in, leave the lid off, and put it in the fridge for a few hours to cool off. It will continue thickening as it cools.

If you actually go the length to steralize a mason jar for this, your jam should last for quite some time in the fridge. I'm impatient so I just washed my mason jar really well. I don't expect it to last very long in my fridge because I'll eat it all before it has a chance to go bad.

Enjoy! :)

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Update + Recipe | An Apology and a Quick Recipe

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I haven't blogged in quite some time, and it's mainly because I've been prepping to move out of my old apartment and into a new one for the past couple weeks. I haven't had any new recipes because I haven't been grocery shopping to make any remarkable dishes for you guys since I'd end up having to lug all my new groceries to my new apartment (it was bad enough transporting the little groceries I DID have in the scorching heat).

So, just a little recap on my life: I am finally all moved into my new apartment. I'm living alone now because my roommate Rachel graduated and to be honest I just can't tolerate living with anyone other than her, so this is the best option for me, lol.

Last Monday was Memorial Day and I got to go home and spend it with my family, and Chris came over which was nice. My sister visited from Virginia with the baaabbbbbyyyyyyy which was awesome since I hadn't seen her or Liam since Easter weekend. I made quiiiiiite a large spread for just my mom, my sister, my aunt, my sister's friend Dana, Chris, and I but I was too frazzled to photograph anything. I was cooking a bunch of things at the same time and I didn't have the time nor energy to capture all the steps and outcomes. I did write down the recipe to the vegan black bean and avocado burgers that I made, but again, I didn't take any pictures of the finished product. But I'll still probably make a post about the recipe soon.

I did, however, make the chickpea and avocado dip, which went over quite well with everyone who tried it! So that was nice :)

Now I'm back down by school for the majority of the summer. I babysit down here and I soon will be starting to work with a professor as a reading and grading assistant on campus, AND on Monday I have an interview at a coffee shop about 25 minutes away, so I'm hoping that goes over well. I might be biting off more than I can chew, but we'll see how everything goes :)

Tonight I had a simple dinner but it was delicious enough to be blog worthy :) It's not really a recipe... it's more like an idea: Vegan BLT

So for this I just took 4 slices of smokey tempeh, sauteed it over medium heat in some extra virgin olive oil in a skillet to get it crispy on both sides (about 5 minutes on each side). Then I added those crispy slices to a club roll from my supermarket's bakery with some slices of fresh tomato and some red leaf lettuce. The whole thing was gone in about 5 minutes. That's how good it was.

If I had more options in the fridge I probably would have added some sprouts or used kale or spinach instead of the lettuce. I was also gonna add some avocado but mine just wasn't ripe enough to slice.

Enjoy! :)

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Recipe | Smokey Avocado and Chickpea Dip

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1 15 oz can of Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 avocado
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large food processor and pulse until the desired consistency is achieved. My food processor was small so I processed the garbanzo beans, added them to a bowl, then processed the garlic and onion and added that to the bowl, then I just added the avocado straight to the bowl without processing, added the spices and olive oil and mixed everything together with a spoon.

Serve this as a spread on a sandwich or just dip your favorite pita chips in it. I won't judge you if you decide to just eat it with a spoon, though

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Recipe | Another Simple and Delicious Warm Barley Salad

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Makes 4-6 servings, depending on if you're eating it as your main meal or as a side dish

2 cups cooked barley
a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 small zucchini, cut in fourths, lengthwise, and then chopped
1 tomato, chopped
6 slices of Smart Deli baked ham, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

I had my barley already cooked from when I made a huge batch earlier in the week. I suggest cooking your barley ahead of time, because the other steps of this recipe don't take much time to cook so you might end up over cooking your veggies while you wait for your barley to finish cooking. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with because this "salad" can be eaten piping hot, room temperature, and even cold.

Set a large skillet to medium heat and add some extra virgin olive oil. Sweat the onions and peppers for about 5-7 minutes.

Add some salt and pepper and then throw in your zucchini. Cook everything for another 5-ish minutes. I didn't want the zucchini to get too mushy, so I cut the cooking time a little short for it so it was still a bit crunchy. If you want the zucchini softer, cook it closer to 7-8 minutes.

Add some more salt and pepper to the pan along with the red pepper flakes and then add your "ham" slices. Separate the pieces a little bit with your hands as you're adding them to the pan. You don't need to cook this as it's already fully cooked. So just stir everything to warm the "ham" through.

Combine your veggies and protein with your 2 cups of barley and then throw in your chopped up tomato and toss everything with a few more tbsp of olive oil. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. You can enjoy this as just a side dish or as your entire meal.

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